Develop An App Like Dubai REST: Process, Cost & More

As the real estate industry is growing in the UAE, businesses are trying to offer seamless, secure, and smart mobile-friendly solutions that eliminate the need for traditional property transactions.

In the UAE, this idea is led by one of the top real estate apps, Dubai REST, that redefines how buyers, sellers, and investors interact with the property market. Many businesses in the UAE are taking the initiative to develop an app like Dubai REST to open the door to better opportunities for buyers and sellers.

Do you also want to be one of them? Then you should start the development of an engaging real estate app and turn the vision into a successful reality.

If you don’t know where to start, then follow this blog. We have explained the development process from scratch and added much more information in this blog.

What is the Dubai REST App?

The Dubai REST (Real Estate Self Transaction) is an online real estate buy and sell platform officially launched by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). This app was the result of the Smart Dubai initiatives created with the aim of simplifying the property hunting process with the support of a digital solution.

Whether it’s property owners, real estate agents or buyers, or renters, they can complete important property transactions from anywhere and at any time. This is a smart digital solution that reduces the dependency on physical paperwork or the need for an in-person visit to the property.

This app offers a wide range of smart features like verifying property ownership, reviewing title deeds, buying and selling properties, managing contracts, and more. Dubai REST app plays the role of a perfect digital real estate solution by offering real-time and verified property data from the DLD.

It actively supports the vision of the UAE’s government to become paperless and bring digital innovation in the country.

Looking Down at the Numbers in the Real Estate App Market of the UAE

The real estate app market of the UAE has witnessed an excellent boom in the past few years. This is because more people from around the world are investing in the properties of the UAE, and to make it a seamless process, they are building interactive apps. It is expected that the real estate app market will grow more and stronger.

For the evidence and to prove our above claims, we have done our homework and come up with excellent numbers.

Highlighting the real estate software market of the UAE:

• In the year 2023, the UAE’s real estate software market generated a revenue of $64.1 million.
• Now, it is predicted by the experts that by the year 2030, the real estate software market of the UAE will reach $173.7 million.
• Thus, during the forecast period, i.e., between the years 2024 to 2030, the real estate software market of the UAE will grow at the rate of 15.3%.
• The value of the UAE real estate market has seen a drastic boom since 2019. In 2023, the real estate market value in the UAE was $704.25 billion and is expected to reach $1082.51 billion by 2030.

• According to Statista, the UAE’s real estate market is expected to reach a staggering value of $693.53 billion by 2025 and $759.04 billion by the year 2029, with a CAGR rate of 2.28% per year.

The above number clearly states that if you have mobile app ideas for innovative real estate apps like Dubai REST, you should work on their creation and must launch them on the competitive market.

Exploring the Must-Have Features of the Dubai REST App

Features are the core elements that make the real estate app, like Dubai REST, the first choice for the people of the UAE. So, before delving deeper into this blog to learn about the development process, you must know about the features that can make your real estate stand out.

Thus, in this section, we have listed and discussed a few top features of the Dubai REST app that help you create a robust clone real estate app.

1] Property Listing

The core feature of the real estate app Dubai REST is the property listing. This is an important feature that allows users, i.e., the property owners and the agents, to list properties for sale, for rent, or for lease.

While listing a property, they can add all the required details like pictures, price, owner’s number, and other details.

2] Property Information

The app allows the real estate agent and the property owner to showcase the extensive details of the property. The details are crucial for the buyers and renters to evaluate before finalising on their choice of property.

The details, like the layout of the property, owners or developers’ information, property availability, improvements or renovations made, etc, can be added.

3] Interactive Property Search with Filters

The Dubai REST app offers users a smart and interactive property search feature. Users can filter their property requirements to make a dedicated property search.

Using this feature, the buyers get target search results as per price, location, lifestyle, and more. Also, users can save properties they like for later evaluation and make a voice search.

4] Integrated Map

While looking for a property, location plays an important role, and with map integration makes it very easy for the buyers.

The map integrated on the app allows users to establish a better understanding of the locality the property is located. They can see the neighborhood, which allows them to see nearby schools, hospitals, shopping complexes, and other options.

5] Virtual Property Tours

A virtual property tour is one of the best features offered by the real estate app Dubai REST. The power of VR technology is integrated into the app so that buyers can explore properties from the ease of their home.

They get a 360-degree virtual tour of their favourite property, which offers convenience to understand the spaces without physically visiting them, and it also saves their time.

Steps to Develop an App Like Dubai REST

The main reason you are reading this blog is to learn how to develop a mobile app like Dubai REST. It’s crucial to strategically plan the development process and follow it to create the real estate app that stands out in the competition. To make it easy for you, we have prepared a guide to the development process.

Here we have explained the different development stages below to build a real estate app that thrives. Let’s quickly get into it.

Step 1: Market Research

The first step of the development process is to do the part of your research to clearly specify the development process. As part of the research, you have to make competitor and audience analysis.

Gather a deep knowledge about the competitors’ app, including Dubai REST, check their features, and look for any loopholes that your app can exploit.

Also, learn about the audiences, what they demand, and all this information will help you to plan the requirements that help you build a winning real estate app like the Dubai REST app.

Step 2: Decide on Required Features

Next, after the research and planning, you must proceed and start to decide on the features that you want to include in your real estate app. The features are one of the essential elements of the apps that have the power to change the dimension of the app.

If you look into the Dubai REST app, its features have made it the demanded app in the whole of the UAE. There will be many features, but choosing the one that helps your app stand out from the competition is crucial. You can check the feature list we have listed in the above section.

Step 3: Choose the Right Tech Stack

The prime thing that helps you in the creation of the app is your choice of technologies. There are different categories of development that you have to carry out to create a complete app.

Each of these categories requires the use of different types of technologies. The key is to choose the right technology if you want the real estate to function properly, safely, and is capable of growing.

The different categories of development that you have to follow include the frontend, backend, database, and cloud services. We have mentioned them below.

Categories	Required Tech Stack
Frontend development	React Native or Flutter, Swift, and Kotlin
Backend development	Node.js, Ruby on Rails, PHP, and Python
Databases	MySQL, or MongoDB
Cloud services	AWS, Firebase, and Google Cloud Platform

Step 4: Carry Out the UI/UX Design

After research planning, making the right choice for tech stacks and features, it’s time to start with creating the UI/UX design of the app. In this step, you have to create a prototype of the real estate app using the wireframe.

You have to design the features of the app along with an interactive interface, which functions on different types of devices. This process also allows you to create the blocks, buttons, colours, and icons of the app. Focus on creating an easy-to-navigate user interface (UI) that offers an excellent user experience (UX).

Step 5: Develop the App

Now, after the design, start to develop the real estate app. In this step, you have to carry out the frontend and backend development process. In frontend development, you have to develop the app interface.

The UI/UX you create has to turn it into a well-functioning app interface where users can easily navigate the features.

Then comes the backend development, which takes care of the backbone of the app, ensuring smooth functioning of the app. It also involved the integration of payment gateways and security features.

Step 6: QA and Testing

Now that you are done with the development of the real estate app, like Dubai REST, it’s time to make sure the app is working in its optimum state. In this case, you have to perform testing and QA to fix issues related to the app and any bugs that may slow down the app.

Launching an app without proper testing can ruin the customer experience, which affects its reputation. In this process, you must perform different types of testing, which include performance testing, functionality testing, security testing, regression testing, and more.

Step 7: Launch and Market

When done with the testing and you are sure the app is good to go, then launch it to different app download platforms like Google Play and App Store. From these platforms, the potential audience will install the real estate app for their use.

Before the launch, there is an important step you must follow, which is marketing. Yes, promote the app through various platforms like social media platforms, email marketing, and others. This active promotion will help you create a buzz in the market so that it can attract more users.

Step 8: Post-Launch Maintenance

The development step doesn’t end with the launch of the app, but there lies more work after the launch. You have to make sure that the app is working in its correct state and users are not facing any issues, which is when post-maintenance enters the scene. In this step, you have to keep monitoring the app performance.

This will allow you to figure out app issues or bugs and fix them in real time. Also, keep the software of the app updated with the advanced one. When it comes to the security of the app, keep the security patch of the app updated to avoid any future cyberattacks.

Cost to Develop an App Like Dubai REST

Now you know the process to develop an app like Dubai REST, and it’s not that challenging if you correctly follow the steps.

However, some may feel the process is a little tough for them to grasp. For them, the best idea is to hire a mobile app development company in Dubai to make the real estate app development less hassle.

But wait, before you hire a development company, you must create a budget plan so that it doesn’t feel like a burden. To create the budget, you must know the cost to develop an app like Dubai REST. Thus, the average mobile app development cost, similar to Dubai REST, is between $30,000- $200,000 or more, depending upon different factors complexity, choice of tech stack, and more.

If you are creating the basic version of the Dubai REST app, it will not cost more than $50,000. This is because you will be integrating less complex features and technologies that you have used are also basic ones.

On the other hand, a full-stack real estate app development costs will be more than $200,000. This is because you will be integrating trending and unique features, and for the development, you will be using the latest technologies.

Factors Influencing the Cost to Develop an App Like Dubai REST

You already know that the cost to develop an app like Dubai REST is influenced by several factors. You must know about those factors to form a clearer picture while preparing the app budget. It will also ensure that you can plan a well-executed app development process meeting the regulatory requirements of Dubai.

Here is the list of factors influencing the cost of real estate app development below.

• Feature Complexity

The features you are going to integrate into your real estate app, like Dubai REST, their complexity will decide the cost of app development.

You want your app to offer seamless functionality, to make sure you are adding the best features, like advanced search filters, property listing, secure payment options, and digital document handling. Adding more advanced features like AI personalisation, a virtual tour, etc, will boost the cost.

• Choice of Platform

The choice of platform is another crucial factor that decides the cost of real estate app development. There are two types of platforms for which you are going to create an app like Dubai REST, native, and cross-platform.

Native consists of developing an app for either iOS or Android. Cross-platform, on the other hand, consists of developing an app that works great on both iOS and Android. The former is a cost-effective option compared to the latter.

• Choice of Tech Stack

The choice of tech is also affecting the cost of real estate app development, which consists of programming languages and frameworks. This is one of the prime factors that decides the overall cost of app development.

If you choose a scalable and reliable tech stack, you have to pay the hefty upfront cost, but in the long run, it will offer better performance and easy maintenance. The team’s experience with technologies also affects the cost.

• App Maintenance and Updates

As we said, post-maintenance is an important part of app development to keep the app in its ideal position after launch affects the development costs.

Even after the launch of the app, you have to keep the app updated with the latest OS and security patch version. Moreover, the app must be bug-free, and the features must be updated to the latest versions. All these ongoing maintenance of the app affects the total cost of app development.

• Security and Data Privacy

You have to make sure the app is secure for the users by keeping the users’ data, like personal information, safe from cyberattacks. This is why it is crucial to implement strong security features like data encryption, secure login, and fraud detection.

This will take more time for development and hence increases the development cost. Compromising on implementing a strong security feature to cut development costs can lead to reputation damage.

Monetisation Models for an App Like Dubai REST

Since you are investing a hefty amount in the development of a real estate app like Dubai REST, you must earn a good amount of revenue from it. By applying the right monetisation strategies, you can create a good stream of revenue from your real estate app.

If you don’t know about the strategies, we have made this work easy for you by listing a few excellent mobile app monetization strategies for your app. Let’s look at them now.

➢ Subscription Models

The first strategy that helps your real estate app earn a good stream of revenue is the subscription model. According to this strategy, you need to create multiple subscription plans that offer various categories of premium features.

When users want to use premium features, they must purchase a specific subscription plan. This is also a good strategy to attract different classes of customers.

➢ Featured or Premium Listings

Offer property owners or the real estate agents the option of a premium listing. This is also a good strategy for you to allow your app to make money.

So, for those real estate agents who want their listing to be featured in the upper tier of the search results, this strategy comes with an excellent opportunity in exchange for payment. To take advantage of this feature, which helps them improve visibility and feature their listing in a better way.

➢ In-App Advertisement

In-app advertisement is another monetisation strategy for your real estate app. As per this strategy, your app will be used by other brands or apps as a banner to promote themselves.

They can run ads in exchange for a percentage of the money. Other than this, when the app users click on the ad, it will also allow the app owner to earn money. You may have seen to click on the estate picture, as you need to watch an ad first.

➢ Commission fees

Commission fees are also a good way for the real estate apps to earn a stream of revenue. As per this strategy, the agents or the property owners who have listed property on the app have to pay a percentage of the fee for every sale made through the app.

This means every time when property is rented out, taken on lease, or purchased, the agents or the homeowner, the app can earn a fixed percentage of money.

Nimble AppGenie Can Help You Create Your Real Estate App Like Dubai REST

The demand for innovation in the real estate industry of the UAE has encouraged many businesses to create robust real estate apps. One of the leading names in the UAE real estate app market is Dubai REST, which offers incredible features for both buyers and sellers.

To those who wish to build an app like Dubai REST, comes an incredible opportunity to thrive in the competitive real estate market of the UAE. To fulfill this dream, we, the expert developers of Nimble AppGenie, the best real estate app development company in Dubai, are playing a major role.

Choosing us will allow you to partner with a budget-friendly and innovative real estate app development solution. From planning to launch and post maintenance, we take care of it all so you don’t have to worry.

Our developers know about trending features like AI or VR, and technologies that ensure the best performance for your app.

Conclusion

So, it must be clear to you that the idea of making an app like Dubai REST is about creating a futuristic and innovative digital solution that transforms the way people buy property in the UAE.

This smart initiative supports the aim to become a paperless smart city and the individual’s demand for a secure, user-friendly, and smart digital real estate platform.

By now, you have figured out what you need to do to develop an app like Dubai REST that gains a competitive edge in the thriving real estate app market of the UAE. The path planning to build the app is ready now; you just need to take the required steps to witness the success of your real estate app.

The future of real estate in the UAE is digital; start building a futuristic app that can successfully give it shape.

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